“It is be very, very painful to feel that you are the subject of an unjust accusation.”

Mr Turnbull, who as a young lawyer helped defend the late Kerry Packer during the Costigan royal commission into organised crime, said the media mogul took the same approach.

“Kerry Packer did the same thing,” Mr Turnbull said, outing himself as the “Goanna”.

“You’ve got to nail these things.”

“What the complaniant says now I don’t know, but I think from Bill Shorten’s point of view he’s better off getting this whole thing aired and ventialted and dealt with now rather than continue to bubble up as a whispering campaign

“Those things can be very corrosive.”

Tony Abbott said he thinks Mr Shorten has “dealt with” the matter now.

“Obviously when something like that is swirling around in the ether sometimes it’s best to deal with them openly and he’s done what he thinks is best,” the Prime Minister told ABC Radio this morning.

“It’s a personal matter from a long time ago and I think it’s been dealt with.”

Now over ... Bill Shorten’s statement in Melbourne yesterday should be the end of the matter, his Deputy Tanya Plibersek believes. Picture: Nathan Dyer/News Corp.Source:News Corp Australia

Mr Shorten’s Deputy Tanya Plibersek believes his statement yesterday should be the end of the matter.

“It’s been an incredibly stressful period for him and his family.”

He could have “carried on” without revealing he was the senior Labor figure but he instead he was “gutsy”, she said.

Both stressed the importance of police investigating such “serious” allegations.

Senior colleague Chris Bowen said Mr Shorten showed considerable courage in being “up front with the Australian people” and should be commended for his decision.

The alleged victim, now a nurse, claimed the incident happened at a Young Labor camp near Geelong in 1986, when she was 16 and Mr Shorten was 19.

She first raised the allegation on former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Facebook page last year shortly after Mr Shotten became Opposition Leader.

The Labor leader yesterday described the allegations as “untrue” and “abhorrent”.